Dovlatov and Surroundings

Dovlatovand Surroundings is a literary ode by one of the mostconsequential late 20th-century Russian writers, Alexander Genis, toanother: Sergei Dovlatov. Though the book’s focus is ostensibly the manhimself, the text unfolds as a comprehensive look at the Soviet, post-Soviet,and American cultures that shaped him and which he shaped. Dovlatov and Surroundings constantly, but effortlessly shifts itsfocus from the intimate to the sweeping, as Genis’s reflections on hisfriendship with Dovlatov organically give way to recollections about diasporalife, which transition smoothly into analyses of language, culture, politics,and literature. Characterized by Genis as an obituary, this book makes plainthe significance of Dovlatov to Russian literature and the nuances of theSoviet cultural heritage.